2011 Biltmore Festival of Flowers Begins April 2

Spring gets a head start in the Biltmore Conservatory (March 2011)

Our four-year anniversary with the Inn on Mill Creek Bed & Breakfast is right around the corner, and one thing we’re remarking on this year is how we love Spring more and more as time goes on. Spring has actually surpassed Autumn as our favorite season if you can believe it (and that’s saying a lot, considering we have six weeks of awesome fall color in the mountains of Western North Carolina).

One annual event that always makes us smile and “think Spring” is Biltmore Estate’s Festival of Flowers. The gardens at Biltmore are definitely the place to be during the Festival of Flowers. In April, there are tulips amassed in the Walled Garden by the thousands and the Azalea Garden follows soon after with acres and acres of azalea shrubs in full bloom. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact bloom peak of the azaleas…one year it was the last week of April, while it was the first week of May the previous year. However, no matter when you visit, be it April or May, you will experience a fantastic technicolor-esque Spring palette. Tulips, azaleas, irises and peonies are just some of the Spring blooms you might see. Plus, the roses are really something to behold at Biltmore and they’ll be blooming in Spring as well.

The Festival of Flowers is celebrated not just in the gardens at Biltmore, but all around the estate, including: inside Biltmore House in gorgeous floral arrangements, at Biltmore Winery with special Festival of Flowers wines, at the restaurants which carry special menus, and at the garden shop behind the Conservatory, where you can attend daily seminars on topics like Culinary Herbs and Edible Flowers and Celebrate Spring with Wreaths (and keep in mind that guests of the Inn on Mill Creek can get discounted tickets that are also good for a free second day to be able to enjoy Biltmore to its fullest).

Lest we forget that Spring is still a week away as we write this, we have some photos to share from our most recent trip to Biltmore with friends. The orchids are in full bloom in the Conservatory (Brigette’s favorite place on the estate), and there are some Spring flowers and other blooms that are providing a little color preview for all the beauty to come over the next few months in the North Carolina mountains. Enjoy… and think Spring!